THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006

COMING FRIDAY

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED: "ANCIENT HISTORY"

"Ancient History," an episode of Justice League Unlimited featuring the return of Hawkman, makes its premiere on Cartoon Network on Saturday at 10:30 p.m.

The episode has a teleplay by Geoff Johns, from a story by Matt Wayne. It is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos.

Here's how the network describes the episode:

"The Shadow Thief returns and so does Hawkman as more mysteries from 'Shadow of the Hawk' are explored."

Johns follows Darwyn Cooke, Warren Ellis and Gail Simone as comics writers who have worked as free-lancers on the show.

The voice cast includes James Remar as Hawkman and Shadow Thief, Hector Elizando as Hath-Set and Robin Atkin Downes as Gentleman Ghost.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

Look for more on Justice League Unlimited soon here in The Continuum.

ED BRUBAKER EXTENDS MARVEL EXCLUSIVE

Marvel Comics on Thursday announced that Ed Brubaker, writer of Uncanny X-Men, Captain American and Daredevil, has extended his exclusive contract with the publisher. Terms were not disclosed.

"I couldn't be happier," Brubaker said. "As much as I enjoyed my time at DC, and as much as I miss the guys at WildStorm, I was always more of a Marvel fan growing up, and arriving at Marvel, getting to write Cap, DD, and now the Uncanny X-Men, it just feels like a perfect fit. And with this new contract, it's like Marvel is showing its confidence in me, and making me an important part of their future plans for a long time to come.

"Plus, there's an unprecedented opportunity for new projects that I'm sure will be announced very soon."

Tom Brevoort, editor on Captain America said, "Ed brought back Bucky, and made the story not suck. That's a guy worth keeping around."

"I'm incredibly proud of the work that Steve Epting and I have done so far on Captain America," Brubaker said. "And glad to see retailers and readers responding to our controversial Winter Soldier storyline with strong and steady sales that continue to tick up month after month. Cap was my first favorite comic as a kid, and to just be handed it so freely by Joe and Dan, and encouraged to really shake things up at the same time, is one of the highlights of my entire mainstream career.

"And there's only more excitement to come because the great stuff that Mark Millar and Brian Bendis (in New Avengers) are doing with Cap during Civil War is just opening doors of possibility for Cap's future, and I'm really looking forward to that."

In terms of Uncanny X-Men, Brbuaker said, "Just getting the first batches of pages from Billy Tan's first issue of Uncanny X-Men really blew me away. I think anyone who read X-Men: Deadly Genesis and thought they'd seen what my X-Men would be is in for a real surprise, and anyone who thinks they've seen the best work from Billy Tan is in for an even bigger one. I truly believe this guy is the next big thing."

Above are the covers to Uncanny X-Men #477 and Daredevil #88. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

ACTIVISION'S MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE

More than 140 Marvel characters come together in Activision's Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, an all-new action/RPG that is scheduled for a fall release.

Players assume the roles of more than 20 Marvel jeroes including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Captain America, and through their actions determine the fate of both planet Earth and the Marvel universe ­ revealed in one of multiple epilogues.

"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance delivers a new twist on action/RPGs where players' actions and choices ultimately determine what happens to the Marvel universe," said Will Kassoy, Vice President of Global Brand Management for Activision. "This coupled with the game's enormous character roster will deliver an action-packed experience that comic book fans have been waiting for."

Here's how Activision describes the game:

"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance features a deep, rich gameplay experience by offering total team customization, where players create their own team name, icon and vehicle, as well as establish their team reputation as they play throughout the story. Gamers also have the option to level up each character individually to their liking, or all team members at the same time to keep their heroes balanced. With the gamešs new combat system, players battle against the worldšs most notorious Marvel Super Villains in the air, underwater, and on the ground, using grappling, blocking and dodging moves, by charging up their Super Hero powers before unleashing them, and using environmental objects as one and two-handed weapons.

"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance features a unique storyline where the missions players accept, the objectives they complete, and their interactions with other characters throughout the game directly impact how the story plays out. The game also features a robust multiplayer component where fans can band together with friends as their favorite Marvel Super Heroes, and fight evil in both on and offline cooperative story modes. Therešs also a Competitive Mode where the game tracks various in-game stats so players can see how well they stack up against one another ­ affecting the amount of experience points earned and how equipment is distributed."

Created by Raven Software and C.B. Cebulski, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will be the first super-hero game out for all next-gen gaming systems, and will also be available on current-gen, handheld and PC platforms.

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE ROUNDUP

In other Spider-Man movie news, below are more images from Wednesday's filming of Spider-Man 3 in Cleveland.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images and look for more Cartoon Network news on Friday here in The Continuum.

FIRST LOOKS

For covers and two- to five-page previews of upcoming titles, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Elsinore #5 and Lost Squad #4 from Devil's Due Publishing and Veronica #170 from Archie Comics.

BRIEFLY

* BCI will release Flash Gordon -- The Complete Series on DVD on July 18. The four-disc collection features the series' 24 episodes.

Bonuses will include two 4x6 Flash Gordon art cards by Frank Cho and Gene Ha.

* DC Comics on Thursday announced that Robin #149, the title's second "One Year Later" issue has sold out and will be going back to press for a second printing, which will feature a recolored version of the original cover art by Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines and will be in stores on May 24.

* Fantastic Four and Sin City star Jessica Alba will be interviewed on E! News on Friday.

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links. Click on the date to get the day's full report.